AS pilot found dead on tarmac in Seattle.

It was very tramatic to witness this yesterday morning, I was sure to call my friends and family at home and send them my love.

Our pilot was doing his checks outside inspecting the plane, and two rampers found him collapsed on the ground.

My thoughts and prayers are with his family. RIP.

Popular pilot was performing walk-around when he collapsed

June 1, 2007

Seattle-based Captain Steve Tedrick collapsed and died of unknown causes early this morning while preparing for Flight 590 to San Diego.

Captain Tedrick, who was 57 and an Alaska Airlines pilot for 28 years, lived in Edgewood, Wash. He is survived by his wife, Marjorie, and children, Cliff and Laura.

Captain Tedrick was formerly a 737-200 Anchorage-based captain who was transferring to the 737-4/NG Seattle base. As a pilot he possessed a wealth of aviation experience and was highly respected by fellow pilots and other employees at Alaska Airlines.

Friend and fellow captain, Michael Rinehart, remembered Steve Tedrick today as a funny, generous and personable man with a wide variety of interests.

He was just a pleasure to be with in the cockpit. He was relaxed but hyper-vigilant and an excellent pilot, Rinehart said. He was so funny he could have been a writer for Monty Python.

Tedrick preferred flying -200s because it was a basic airplane and he would rather fly to Barrow and Wrangell than Boston, Rinehart said.

Tedricks interests included restoring high-end automobiles, carpentry, cooking, gardening and playing baseball.

Two Menzies employees discovered Tedrick after he collapsed about 6:15 a.m. and began administering mouth-to-mouth resuscitation and CPR, said Glenn Johnson, executive vice president of airport services and maintenance and engineering. A customer service agent also assisted with CPR and flight attendants responded and tried to revive him with a defibrillator.

Port of Seattle emergency medical technicians then took over, but were also unable to revive him.

The Critical Incident Response Program Team responded to provide counseling and is available to all employees.